hell to breakfast

Mundane Pointless Stuff I Must Share (MPSIMS)
#1

Can anyone help me find this expression, which I seem to recall hearing frequently growing up?

It means “over a wide area”, as, “our family is scattered from hell to breakfast.”

I can’t find any source for it, and I would not be surprised if it was a translation–possibly a faulty one–from Swedish, as my grandmother was a Swedish immigrant who played fast and loose with the English language.

#2

I can’t answer your question, but the saying “to Hell and high water” was common in my family. Sounds like a mixed metaphor intended to convey the impossible vastness of the mess in question. Maybe Quote Investigator can come to the rescue.

#3

Here’s an entry on it from the A Way With Words radio show.